Nerd's corner

Wednesday 4 October 2000 23:00 BST

So, if man is made to make lists, then who are the greatest geeks of them all? We look at the top ten nerds and the top ten listmakers

Top ten Nerds

1. Rod BaberMountaineer Rod Baber listed the highest points in each country in Europe - and then climbed them.
2. DJ spottersDJs are nerdy collectors in disguise who attract nerdy music fans (not in disguise)
3. WisdenKing nerd Matthew Engel edited the nerd's bible - the Cricketer's Almanack - for Asperger's everywhere
4. Record collectorsIt's not just about collecting. It's about sorting, filing, alphabeticising, listing - and loving it.
5. Model carsMan's need to collect is irresistible - especially cars (if they're rich) or model motors (if they're poor)
6. Reservoir DogsObsessing about the details of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" kept the Tarantino boys busy for hours
7. Tony BlairOur PM played in a band, issued a list of things he'd do when in power and is unable to empathise...Aha! He's a nerd!
8. TrainspottersIt may be acceptable to scorn the anorak with his notebook of train numbers, but who are we to judge?
9. StattoThe betting guru from TV's Fantasy Football is a sporting statistics almanac in human form. He's got it bad.
10. GodBlame it on him upstairs. The Ten Commandments were the world's first top ten...so He
is a man.

Top ten list-makers

1. Ian Dury's list song 'Reasons to be cheerful' lists 57 reasons in just four sublime pop minutes.2. God wrote the first top 10: The Ten Commandments3. Oskar Schindler was famed for his list4. Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity brought retentive list-making out of the closet5. Helen Fielding did the same for women in Bridget Jones' Diary6. Samuel Johnson not only collected all the words in the world, but he alphabeticised them too!7. William the Conqueror closed England early for a Domesday stock take8. Norris McWhirter was the guru of the Guinness Book of Records9. The NHS gets a mention for its work with waiting lists10. Match of the Day's Albert doesn't have a surname, but is a top notch supplier of useless facts